I Heard His Love For Her, I Ended Us

It was her fifth wedding anniversary, and Evelyn found a fresh scratch on her car in the parking lot. She'd only meant to pull up the dash cam footage to see what had happened. Instead, she got a total shock. Her husband Leo's voice came through, clear as day. His voice was clear, calm, but every word cut straight into her like a knife. "I never loved Evelyn. I married her just because she was the right fit for a wife. "Chloe, you were my first love. You were the only one I ever loved, and you always will be." Every drop of blood in Evelyn's body froze solid instantly. Right after that, a female voice came through the speaker, laced with amusement. "Really? I'm just a divorced woman. She's a university professor." "Of course. Evelyn is too plain and boring. How could she ever be as captivating as you?" Leo declared sharply and unflinchingly, oozing with obvious favoritism, "She can't hold a candle to you." The footage went dead quiet for a few seconds. Then, the heated, sloppy sounds of lips and teeth tangled together filled the speakers. It sounds dirty enough to make anyone blush. When that sickening, sloppy kissing finally faded, Chloe breathed out a playful little complaint, "Ugh, stop it. You've rubbed all my lipstick off." Leo chuckled low, his voice soft and coaxing. "Can you blame me when you taste this sweet?… After all these years, you still only buy strawberry-flavored lipstick, huh?" BANG! Evelyn slammed the strawberry cake onto the car seat—the one she'd run three streets to get. Leo was always cool and reserved, so careful and controlled in everything he did. Even the presents he brought her were always strawberry-flavored. She'd always believed it was their little thing, a sweet secret that belonged only to the two of them. And right then, everything clicked into place. Leo never loved strawberry flavor at all. And he never loved her, either. He just couldn't get Chloe, his strawberry-scented first love, out of his head. Every present from him was but a vessel for him to yearn for another woman through her. How laughable. Evelyn closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. When she opened them again, there was nothing left in her gaze but cold, empty clarity. She picked up her phone and dialed the number of a used car dealer with a poker face. The used car dealer showed up in no time. He circled the practically brand-new car twice, and his face twisted up in confusion. "Ms. Bennett, this car's been kept in such great shape. That little scratch is nothing. It is just a quick touch-up paint job. Are you really sure you want to sell it?" "I'm sure." Her answer didn't hold a single shred of hesitation. "Anything that's an eyesore doesn't need to be kept around." The second she handed the keys over, she never looked back. When she got home that night, she'd expected the house to be quiet and empty. Instead, it was packed full of people. Her friends surged toward her the second she walked in, confetti and flower petals showered down all over her shoulders. Evelyn's gaze cut straight through the crowd of well-wishers, locking in the center of the living room. Leo was standing right there. Dressed in a neatly pressed grey suit, he looked just as warm-eyed behind his gold-rimmed frames, wearing the tender smile she had once been so familiar with. Right beside him stood a woman clad in a form-fitting red dress, with soft, lazy loose curls. They kept a polite, socially appropriate distance from each other, but their eyes twisted together like clinging vines, thick with a shameless, sticky intimacy that wouldn't be denied. Leo felt her stare and lifted his head to meet her gaze. Then, naturally, he laced his fingers through hers and guided her straight through the crowd toward Evelyn. "Evelyn, let me introduce you. This is Chloe, one of my former juniors from college."